Work starts on highway to Faridabad

By May 2011, people will be able to zoom past on the four lane 24.3 Gurgaon-Faridabad road.

The work on the widening of the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road from the existing two lanes to 4 lanes has begun.

To be a tolled road, for which about 6,800 trees along the 12 km Gurgaon-Faridabad Road have been chopped off in the Faridabad stretch, 2,600 more trees on the Gurgaon side are to be felled by the Haryana Forest Development Corporation for the work from Gurgaon side to begin.

Reliance Infrastructure had bagged this BOT (Build, Operate and Transfer) project of four laning of the highway along with the widening and strengthening of Ballabhgarh-Sohna road with concession period 17 years at Rs 780 crore.

It was the first of its kind road project on BOT basis undertaken by the Public Works (Building and Roads) Department of the Haryana government.

For improvement or upgradation, both bituminous and concrete pavements, would be provided. In addition, some links of the roads like MCF road, crusher zone road and Pali Bakhri road will be improved as a part of scope of work. The total length of roads covered under the project would be 66 km.

Even though it would be a toll road, certain categories of vehicles would be exempted from payment of toll. These vehicles include two wheelers, tractor trolley carrying agricultural produce, defence vehicles, ambulances and funeral vans, police vehicles, fire-fighting vehicles, etc.